HarderToEarn.com

1999 vs 2022

The Cost of Living Comparison

Median Income

$40,700 $74,580

+83.2%

Median Home

$160,125 $432,950

+170.4%

Housing Labor

3.9yr 5.8yr

1.5x harder

📊 Full Item Comparison

Item 1999 Price 2022 Price Change Hours 1999 Hours 2022 Verdict
🥚 Eggs $0.96 $2.86 +198% 0.0h 0.1h Harder
🍞 Bread $0.89 $1.70 +92% 0.0h 0.0h Harder
🥛 Milk $2.84 $4.09 +44% 0.1h 0.1h Easier
⛽ Gas $1.17 $4.09 +251% 0.1h 0.1h Harder
🥩 Ground Beef $1.45 $4.81 +231% 0.1h 0.1h Harder
🐔 Chicken $1.06 $1.80 +71% 0.1h 0.1h Easier
🥓 Bacon $2.55 $7.31 +187% 0.1h 0.2h Harder
☕ Coffee $3.43 $5.89 +72% 0.2h 0.2h Easier
🍊 Oranges $3.30 $5.43 +65% 0.2h 0.2h Easier
🍬 Sugar $5.24 $13.48 +157% 0.3h 0.4h Harder
⚡ Electricity $0.09 $0.16 +84% 0.0h 0.0h Harder
🎓 College Tuition $3,356 $9,750 +191% 171.5h 271.9h Harder
🚗 New Car $21,092 $48,008 +128% 1077.9h 1338.9h Harder
🏠 Monthly Rent $559 $1,166 +109% 28.6h 32.5h Harder
🏥 Doctor Visit $35.05 $121 +246% 1.8h 3.4h Harder
🎬 Movie Ticket $5.03 $9.67 +92% 0.3h 0.3h Harder

📈 Got Harder to Earn

Items where labor hours increased from 1999 to 2022, sorted by magnitude.

Gas

0.1h → 0.1h

1.9x

harder

🏥
Doctor Visit

1.8h → 3.4h

1.9x

harder

🥩
Ground Beef

0.1h → 0.1h

1.8x

harder

🥚
Eggs

0.0h → 0.1h

1.6x

harder

🎓
College Tuition

171.5h → 271.9h

1.6x

harder

🥓
Bacon

0.1h → 0.2h

1.6x

harder

🍬
Sugar

0.3h → 0.4h

1.4x

harder

🚗
New Car

1077.9h → 1338.9h

1.2x

harder

🏠
Monthly Rent

28.6h → 32.5h

1.1x

harder

🎬
Movie Ticket

0.3h → 0.3h

1.0x

harder

🍞
Bread

0.0h → 0.0h

1.0x

harder

Electricity

0.0h → 0.0h

1.0x

harder

📉 Got Easier to Earn

Items where labor hours decreased from 1999 to 2022, sorted by magnitude.

🥛
Milk

0.1h → 0.1h

0.8x

easier

🍊
Oranges

0.2h → 0.2h

0.9x

easier

🐔
Chicken

0.1h → 0.1h

0.9x

easier

Coffee

0.2h → 0.2h

0.9x

easier

💵 Purchasing Power

If you earned the median income in 1999 ($40,700), you'd need $71,495 in 2022 to maintain the same lifestyle.

Based on CPI adjustment (166.6 → 292.6).

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